Chapter 36: A-Level Announcement

It wasn’t hard to guess—this clean, efficient police operation was definitely triggered by Bai Lulu’s report. And with the Bai family’s influence, it was no wonder the raid went so smoothly.

Still, the police didn’t make the trip for nothing. From the contracts they seized, this company was clearly a repeat offender. Who knew how many online smear jobs they’d done before? The vote-rigging and rumor-spreading this time were only a tiny fraction of their business.

“Miss Bai, these are the two contracts you requested.”

A staff member placed two documents in front of Bai Lulu—precisely the contracts involving Lin Xiyue and Xia Jinnian. One for vote-rigging, one for spreading defamatory rumors. Everything was written clearly, and even Wu Li’s signatures were still on them.

Bai Lulu hurriedly photographed every page, even making photocopies. They’d end up as evidence in prosecution later anyway, so none of this was really secret. She’d just pulled some strings to get them early because she needed them now.

Leaving the station, Bai Lulu patted her hands in satisfaction. The fury in her chest finally eased.

Honestly, Wu Li was almost… talented. She’d only created two rumors—one angered the competition’s judge into exposing her entire past; the other angered Bai Lulu, who then came with a jealousy buff and cleaned up the mess. Ironically, the two girls involved, Lin Xiyue and Xia Jinnian, barely cared at all.

“Hehehe~ now I can go claim credit from Lady Xixi~”

She swung the two contracts happily. She was done with quietly watching Lin Xiyue from the shadows. She needed to raise her presence—otherwise she’d just be helping other women steal opportunities.

[Lady Xixi, I found the contracts between Wu Li and the water-army company.]

[Huh?]

[They’re real! Though just photocopies for now—but good enough.]

[Thank you so much, Lulu. This helps a lot!]

[No problem, no problem~ Small matter. Pick a place—Lady Xixi can grab them after work tonight?]

[Eh? You could just send me the pictures.]

[No no no~ I have things to explain too. Better to say them in person.]

[…Should I bring Jinnian this time?]

[No need~ Just Lady Xixi will do. No need to trouble Miss Xia~]

Putting down her phone, Bai Lulu puffed her cheeks.

As if she actually enjoyed shipping those two. That was just a façade she’d used earlier to test their relationship.

She had honestly reflected on how she let Xia Jinnian “pick the peach” before her—the conclusion was simple: she hadn’t spent enough everyday time with Lady Xixi. She needed opportunities for daily close contact; otherwise she’d always be at a disadvantage against Xia Jinnian.

On the other side, Lin Xiyue stared blankly at her screen after reading the message.

Good news kept coming nonstop today. Once the voiceprint identification report arrived, the entire evidence chain would be complete.

No exaggeration—this chain could win a court case, let alone an online one.

As for how Bai Lulu got the contracts, Lin Xiyue didn’t care. The Bai heiress had her own methods—probably not too clean—so it was better not to ask.

“This Bai Lulu… why is she so invested in your affairs, Xixi?”

Xia Jinnian muttered beside her. She could tell it must’ve taken massive effort—and likely no small cost. Was it really worth it for just an online friend?

Maybe she couldn’t understand the feeling because she didn’t have such a long-standing online friend herself?

“No idea. If I had to say, it’s probably because of all these years of friendship. And well… Lulu’s kinda our little fan now too?”

Lin Xiyue shook her head. She wasn’t sure herself. Better to assume Lulu was just kind-hearted—after all, Ran Zhu had helped her tons without ever asking for repayment.

“Ohh~”

Xia nodded. Meanwhile, Lin Xiyue idly browsed the company’s current business announcements on the office computer.

Even though Lin Entertainment had declined, it still held a B-rank status, so it received a fair number of commercial assignments. Not big brands, not big pay, so they generally went to mediocre-tier artists.

“Hm? A theme song for a movie?”

In the list of available assignments, she saw something unusual—among the B, C, and D-grade listings, there was one A-level announcement.

“That’s weird. Why would an A-level assignment appear in our company list?”

Thinking the page might be glitching, she refreshed several times, but the listing remained. Curious, she clicked it and read softly:

“Led by renowned director Li Yibai, the youth romance film Back Then will soon be released. We are now collecting theme-song proposals from entertainment companies nationwide. Submission window: one month.”

“In principle, submitted songs must be rated A-level or above on StarNet and must be unreleased originals. Exceptions may be made in special cases.”

“Upon selection, our production will offer 1,000,000 yuan in songwriting fees and 0.5% of box-office revenue. All other profits from the single release belong entirely to the creator.”

“Note: please mark whether the song is tied to a specific singer.”

After reading the notice, Lin Xiyue’s heart sped up. This was a huge opportunity.

She’d heard of Director Li Yibai, and if she remembered correctly, Back Then had been a massive hit when it was released—emotional, nostalgic, hugely influential.

If her song was selected, and she could personally sing the theme… she would be introduced to the entire nation for the first time. The exposure would be tremendous.

And more importantly—she remembered the film making over a billion at the box office. Even 0.5% meant several million. Add the songwriting fee and single revenue… she could easily earn tens of millions.

Money, money, and more money—exactly what Lin Entertainment desperately needed.

Right now, the company had barely scraped together enough budget just to maintain its rank. To reach its former peak—or even rise to A-rank—they’d need new artists, new productions, bigger promotions, and new idol-development models. All of that required huge capital flow.

“But they said the song needs to be A-level or above… That’s kinda unrealistic…”

Xia Jinnian read the announcement too.

It wasn’t that she doubted her friend’s talent—but even genius needed time to create. To write an A-level song within a month? Every producer in the country might as well go hit themselves with a tofu block.

“Who knows? Still worth trying, right?”

Lin Xiyue squeezed Xia’s hand unconsciously—her now-habitual gesture.

“Because the theme suddenly gave me a little inspiration…”